Photo: Rubbermaid Products / Flickr

To guarantee freshness, always check product labels before you buy anything – because products may look fresher than they really are. When buying, rather buy in small amounts. You may have to shop more often but you won’t be throwing things out when they’ve passed their expiry dates. Once bought, it is important to store your goods correctly to keep them fresh for longer, especially fish, meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables. Tinned food and frozen food also has a shelf life.

How to keep tinned food and frozen food

When you’re out shopping, buy your frozen goods last and be sure to put them in the freezer as soon as you get home. Some frozen dishes like meat, ice-cream and fish should not be allowed to thaw before you pop them into the freezer. Vegetables can be re-frozen if they thaw out before you are able to freeze them again.

Tinned foods should be used within a year of buying them – you could place dated labels on your tins and use older tins from the back of the cupboard first.

How to keep spices, nuts, cereals, sugar, tea and coffee

Store spices and nuts in sealed jars and cereals in sealed containers – check cereals for insects like weevils every so often. Sugar can be kept for a long time, as can jam which will keep well in the fridge in a sealed jar once opened. Use instant coffee within a period of three months to ensure the freshest flavour. Coffee and tea will keep their flavours for longer if they are vacuum packed.

Keeping fresh foods fresh

To maximise the nutritional value of fresh foods, try to eat them as soon as possible. Store your fresh fruit in the bottom drawer of your fridge. Dairy and eggs should also be placed in the fridge, although eggs can be kept at room temperature too. Green vegetables can be placed in plastic bags in the fridge – puncture some holes in the plastic bags to allow them to ventilate.

Fish and pre-cooked meats are best eaten on the day of purchase and meat will be good for about three days in the fridge.

For further tips on how to store food safely, click here.

Tags: cooking, food storage